Should You Tip a Tour Guide?

Imagine your food tour has just ended. The dishes you sampled were delectable; the people you met were so friendly; and the history you learned along the way gave you a new perspective on the neighborhood. The guide was wonderful, concluding the experience with a closing statement, passing out a few business cards, and finishing with a big thank you and smile.

But there’s an awkward moment.

Should you tip the tour guide? Your mind races back to the reminder memo. Was there a note about gratuities? You can’t remember so you look around to see if anyone else is offering a tip.

During my travels, I’ve found myself in such a situation. At the end of one boat tour, the crew actually passed a bucket around for tips. This definitely felt awkward to me. Another time, the guide went into a scripted speech about how he had worked to earn our tips. This felt awkward, too.

At Cincinnati Food Tours, we leave the decision to you. We don’t use any high-pressure tactics to increase our gratuities. Regardless of how many people in the group, we pay our guides a fixed amount for each tour.

That still leaves the question as to whether or not you should pay “extra” for a service you have already paid for. In our opinion, if your guide offered you a pleasant experience that you would not have had were he or she not been leading the tour, you would be thoughtful to acknowledge the efforts with a small gratuity. The tourism industry standard for tipping is 10%-20% of the cost of your ticket, but any amount is good feedback for the guide. A few dollars* discreetly exchanged as you finish with a final thank you or handshake means the world to us. It tells us that what we are doing is worth doing, and it reassures us that we created an experience that you will remember.

*We realize in today’s society, people do not always carry cash. Our guides all have Venmo accounts and can accept electronic tips. We can also add gratuities after the fact if you prefer to include a tip on the credit card you used to purchase your ticket. Just message me at barb@cincinnatifoodtours.com.